Bidding???

Had a guy call me today with a large old home he wanted me to "Bid" for new roofing. 2 1/2 half stories, steep, 2 layers of asphalt over wood shingles, strip and redeck, wood shingles on the sides of the dormers to remove and replace, 3 chimneys to flash, etc. etc. He needs to find the "lowest bidder"

I think I will stay in bed and sleep late that morning that he wants the price. He didn't quite know what to say when I told him that I would definetly NOT be the lowest bidder. We have work lined up through June already. No sense in making it worse.

As qualified as i can get a lead to be is like i said giving a free roof replacement "bid" to existing clients and referrals only. This way i know i'm not wasting my time. I won't get ALL these jobs either but i will get my fair share. Not so with the unqualified leads. Repairs are not price competitive in my area. The public is only looking for a quick response from a professional and that is what i provide and follow up with a quick professional job. No sloppy BS!

While I can appreciate feelings expressed here, we are, after all, talking about a substantial purchase, and price should very much be an issue.

I've come to understand, through my 30yrs in this business, that price generally has no bearing on qulaity of work performed, and in a lot of cases the higher price can be a sign of incompetence. Anyone can simply put a high number to something and muddle through it.

Case in point; I live & work in a predominently rural/resort community, where "crony-ism", (among other dynamics), is alive and well.....Many, have made fortunes, bilking the unsuspecting, wealthy, 2nd home owners. A good portion of the "contractors" here, would perish in the "real world", so-to-speak.....

It is up to US! to qualify the leads we get. That means questions, and lots of them before we ever leave the office. If we don't, we will get what we deserve. Daryl used to have some great posts about the questions he asked before ever going to look at a job. It is an art for sure, but more important than ever for the bottom line. With Diesel at over $4.00 a gal. it is a must.

When I hear they are looking for the lowest bidder I give them the name of a company that I know will be the lowest bidder. They suck but he'll get what he wants and he'll get what he pays for. What bugs me more is the call I got yesterday. The old guy is selling his house and just needs an opinion on how long his roof has left on it. No offer to pay for my time just expects me to drive 10 miles, climb up on his roof and let him know what shape it's in. Then he tells me that he already had the company that put it on 20 years ago come out and look at it. ?????????????????? I just say I'll put you on the list knowing that I am not going to be stopping by. Even better, it was snowing to beat hell, we got 10", and that roof won't be visible for a week. People seem to think that we enjoy going out and giving our time and knowledge away for no cost and no chance of getting any work from it.

All right then. We all agree. Now we have to teach the younger guys how to do it so all of us can make money and the owners will all get a good "value" for what they spend.

Rockydog Said: Tinner Im with Ole Willie, this can only be true if your running alone or no more than 2 additional guys. If I cant get my client to see the value he is getting for the added price, I take a walk. Im not going to work for free or just wages. That bidding stuff gets the homeowner a shorthanded job everytime. Short on material, short on insurance, short on quality.

I must not have been clear enough. I quit bidding replacements in the late 80's. I do repairs and 'complicated' jobs. Why would I want to be bidding anything? If a person calls me after checking me out, the job is sold already.

Tinner "I'm with Ole Willie", this can only be true if your running alone or no more than 2 additional guys. If I can't get my client to see the value he is getting for the added price, I take a walk. I'm not going to work for free or just wages. That bidding stuff gets the homeowner a shorthanded job everytime. Short on material, short on insurance, short on quality.

I'm with Ole Willie. :)

I aggree, but sometimes I will just start to ask questions. It is frustrating to see people waste their time and money and get less than they want. If they give stupid answers, I feel they deserve to get what they do. If not, at least I can steer them in another direction, even if it is not with me.

Preaching to the choir here, OS. As soon as I determine the customer is price focused, we're done talking . . .

It takes a while. I don't know what I would do if I was just getting started. Probably work with one of the older guys to get recognition.

The price wars got so bad in my area of the planet that i finally decided to get out of the free roof replacement estimating business. Too much time and money spent doing it for such a poor return. Probably would have gotten out of the roofing business altogether if i knew how to do anything else. Instead i chose a niche. Roof repairs. I will still bid and do a roof replacement but only for an existing client that i did repairs for first. ( high closing rate and not price dependent) I do not advertise for roof replacements anymore. This after nearly 30 years of roofing.

I don't need the "practice" anymore.

If more people would tell me upfront that they were going with the lowest price......no matter how ridiculous......then I'd get a lot more sleep too! :laugh:

OS, when the customer tells me that they want the lowest bidder, first, I ask them if they are serious. Once they tell me that yes, they are very serious about it. I then tell them that in Michigan, all they need to do is get an unlicensed roofer, agree to whatever price they want, then when the work is done, DON'T PAY THEM. can't get any cheaper than that.

Then they tell me that they could never do that to someone. I tell them that that pretty much what they are doing to the roofer anyways. He will be out of business in a couple months anyways.